It already feels like summer! I don’t know about you, but there is something amazing about a cool summer salad. With food prices soaring, what a better time to plant a vertical garden so you can grow salad greens and herbs?! You just walk outside your back door and harvest a fresh salad. It’s something you can get the whole family can do – especially children as it makes eating healthy fun. What’s great about planting lettuce greens and arugula (all varieties) is that it will quickly regrow so you can have a continual source of salad.
If this piques your interest, go to OutlandLiving.com (or Amazon) to order a vertical garden! These vertical gardens come in 4’ or 6’ height. If you order 6’, you can also plant a few flowers to provide color and add interest. They are very easy to assemble. The trays are sturdy plastic and you can drill holes for drainage, which is key to success. Once assembled, add about 1-inch of gravel to the bottom to help with drainage. The instructions tell you how much soil is needed for each tray. You can also use Miracle Gro Potting Soil and filled tray to about 1” from top. It is recommended to lightly firm the soil so level would not sink.
You can plant from seed or plants. On a 6’, you can plant 4 to 6” apart on triangular spacing. The Miracle Gro Potting Soil has fertilizer in the soil. It is suggested you continue to fertilize every 2 to 4 weeks with Miracle Gro Liquid All Purpose Plant Food. Once seeded or planted, gently water the soil with low water pressure so you don’t blow out the seeds or dislodge the plants. Let plants grow until full and about 6 to 8 inches in height. Once mature, use your scissors to cut back the lettuce leaves to a height of 2 inches. You can harvest fresh lettuce weekly once they are vigorously growing. The herbs can be clipped as needed.
Continue to harvest the lettuce until we get into the heat of summer when it may start to die out. When that happens, convert your vertical garden to other summer vegetables or plant flowers. You can plant lettuce again in the fall. Tag us on social media (Facebook: Harvest by Hillwood or Instagram @harvesttexas) and show us what you are growing!
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